A Pathetic Mess
by gluglug
Summary: Luke does something unexpected and needs Lorelai's help. SPOILER Warning for Ep 4.17!


Title: A Pathetic Mess  
  
Author: Gluglug  
  
Spoiler Warning/Timing: Ep 4.17 SPOILER WARNING  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Summary: One shot fic. Luke does something unexpected and needs Lorelai's help.  
  
Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls and all characters are property of The Dubba Dubba Dubba WB, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions and Amy Sherman- Palladino. They don't belong to me, just borrowing.  
  
=============================  
  
The telephone rang, waking Lorelai up from a pleasant dream. She looked at her clock and groaned when she saw it was 1AM. Who could be calling at this hour? She hoped it wasn't Rory calling from Daytona Beach having gotten herself into trouble during some spring break hi-jinks.  
  
"You better have a damn good reason for waking me up at this hour." She groaned into the receiver.  
  
"Lorelai?" A familiar voice answered, but it wasn't Rory's.  
  
"Luke? Why are you calling me at this ungodly hour?"  
  
"Uh, I'm in jail, I need you to bail me out."  
  
"You what? You've got to be kidding. Am I being punk'd? Is Ashton Kutcher with you?"  
  
"Lorelai, I'm not joking. I need you to come to the Litchfield county jail and bring $500 with you. I'll pay you back, I promise."  
  
By the tone of his voice, Lorelai could tell he wasn't kidding.  
  
"Do they take personal checks or credit cards?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"I don't know, I think cash is the preferred method of payment."  
  
"Fine, I'll hit the ATM and I'll be there as soon as I can." She hung up the phone and sighed.  
  
What could Luke have possibly done to land him in jail? Did he finally blow up and kill Taylor? Pick up a transvestite prostitute? Urinate in public? Or did something go wrong with Nicole? Lorelai's mind raced as she got dressed and headed out the door.  
  
============  
  
Luke sat alone on a cot in the drunk tank with his head in his hands – his head ached and his hand hurt. He didn't mean to, it was an accident, he kept telling them but they just told him to shut up and sleep it off.  
  
He hated having to call Lorelai in the middle of the night but he didn't know who else to call. She was sort of like his unofficial emergency contact, he thought. He was sure she was going to give him crap for this for weeks to come but at least he knew he could go home soon and sleep off the alcohol effects in his own bed.  
  
"Lucas Danes, it's your lucky night. Your girlfriend just posted bail." The guard said.  
  
Luke looked up at the guard. "She's not my girlfriend, she's my emergency contact."  
  
"Well whoever she is, she's waiting for you in the sheriff's office."  
  
The guard unlocked the cell door and Luke stood up, a little unsteadily. He followed the guard down the hall to the sheriff's office where Lorelai was sitting on a bench waiting for him. She did not look happy and it looked like she had gotten dressed in the dark, it looked like she was still wearing her pajama bottoms.  
  
"Well, look who the cat dragged in." She said, eyeing him. "I'm not even gonna ask, let's just go."  
  
"Lorelai, thanks for doing this. I owe you, big time." Luke said, embarrassed and grateful at the same time.  
  
Lorelai just nodded and walked quickly out the door towards her jeep. Luke tried to keep up with her but he was feeling a little dizzy.  
  
"Lorelai, stop. I need to rest." Luke pleaded.  
  
She turned around and walked towards him. He didn't look well.  
  
"Do you need to puke?"  
  
"No, I already did that. I'm just a bit dizzy."  
  
"Okay, just wait here and I'll get my car."  
  
Lorelai pulled out of the parking space and got closer to the building and Luke got into the passenger seat.  
  
They drove in silence until they reached Stars Hollow. Lorelai glanced over at Luke, he was leaning his head against the passenger window with his eyes closed. Her anger began to turn to concern.  
  
"Hey, Luke. We're almost home. Do you want me to drop you at your place or do you want to come home with me?" She asked, tapping his arm.  
  
Luke opened his eyes, he must've been napping. "Huh?"  
  
"You're really out of it. You're coming home with me."  
  
------------------  
  
Lorelai opened the door to her house and led Luke inside towards the couch. She went into the kitchen and got him a glass of water and some aspirin.  
  
"Here – take this, you'll feel better."  
  
Luke did as he was told and handed her the glass. "Thanks."  
  
He leaned over to unlace his boots but he just felt dizzy again.  
  
"Here, let me do that for you." Lorelai unlaced his work boots and set them beside the couch. She went to the linen closet to get Luke a pillow and a blanket.  
  
When she returned to the couch, he had already stretched himself out on the couch and closed his eyes.  
  
"Don't fall asleep, yet. I'm not done playing nursemaid."  
  
She placed the pillow behind his head and lay the blanket over him. She also removed his baseball cap from his head and put it on the coffee table.  
  
Luke watched her with fascination as she did this. He always knew she was a good mother, but now he was on the receiving end of her mothering. He remembered the last time she took care of him when he was drunk and had hurt himself. Now she was doing it again. How was she ever going to fall in love with him when he was a pathetic, drunken mess?  
  
"Lorelai...."  
  
"Luke, we can talk in the morning. Well it's already morning, but later in the morning. Just get some sleep and you can tell me all about your adventure in the pokey later."  
  
"Thanks." He said, as he closed his eyes.  
  
Lorelai just stared at him for a moment before turning out the light. Poor Luke, she thought. In all the years she had known him, she'd hardly seen him drunk. Now this was the second time in the past few months she had seen him fall apart. He was always her rock and now he was crumbling. She hoped she could help him put the pieces back together.  
  
--------------------------  
  
The sun streamed through Lorelai's front window, waking Luke. He opened his eyes and squinted; it took him a moment to remember where he was and how he got here. He groaned when he remembered his misadventures with law enforcement the night before. His head still ached a little and he was stiff from sleeping on the couch.  
  
Luke sat up and stretched, and got up and went into Rory's bathroom to relieve himself. When he was done he went into the kitchen and was surprised by what he saw. Lorelai was making breakfast!  
  
"Since when do you make breakfast?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai jumped when she heard his voice and turned around. He looked a bit rumpled from sleeping on the couch, not to mention his activities from the previous night.  
  
"I've been making breakfast to save money. I don't intend to ask you for another loan especially now that I'm out 500 bucks. Anyway, it's not that hard to make instant oatmeal, coffee and toast. Even I can't screw that up."  
  
"Lorelai, I'll pay you back today. I promise." Luke sat at the table and held his head in his hands.  
  
"Do you want something to eat? The kettle's hot, I could make you some tea and toast."  
  
"Thanks, tea and toast would be great."  
  
A few minutes later, Lorelai served Luke his breakfast and she sat down to join him. She let him fortify himself for a few minutes before asking the burning question.  
  
"So, what exactly happened last night?"  
  
Luke groaned. "Where do I start?"  
  
"At the beginning?"  
  
"Okay, last night I decided to go to our, I mean Nicole's place to talk to her. We've been fighting for the past few weeks and getting nowhere. I wanted to see if maybe we should go ahead with the divorce. So I unlocked the door of the townhouse and I heard some noises coming from the bedroom."  
  
"What kind of noises?" Lorelai knew where this was headed.  
  
"The kind that people make when they're having sex - I found Nicole in bed with some guy."  
  
Lorelai reached across the table and touched his hand. "Oh, Luke, that's horrible. I'm sorry."  
  
"Yeah, me too. I couldn't believe it so I just ran out of there and drove to the nearest bar. After several beers, the bartender wanted to cut me off and I got angry. It was my money and if I wanted to drink, then I should drink. I started yelling and ranting at the guy about what happened with Nicole and then some other guy told me to shut up. Well before I knew it, fists were flying and I wound up punching an off-duty cop. Next thing I know, I'm being hauled off to the drunk tank."  
  
"Wow, Luke. That sucks."  
  
"Tell me about it. I haven't gone to jail since I was a teenager. I never thought I would see the inside of a prison cell again."  
  
"Get out! YOU went to jail before?"  
  
"Yeah, just some stupid stuff, underage drinking, vandalism – that kind of thing. My dad bailed me out but he made me work overtime at the hardware store to pay him back. I remember he was so disappointed in me that I swore I would never do anything stupid again that would land me in jail or have my dad look at me like that."  
  
"Wow, who knew you were a teenaged outlaw? No wonder you were so hard on Jess – you didn't want the same thing to happen to him."  
  
"Well, I guess trouble runs in the family. And unfortunately it's hard to outgrow."  
  
They were silent for a moment as Luke sipped his tea and Lorelai drank her coffee.  
  
"Lorelai, I want to apologize again for dragging you out there to bail me out in the middle of the night. I just didn't know who else to call..."  
  
"Luke, it's okay. I'm kind of glad you called me. Not that I liked dragging my ass to Litchfield to bail you out. But I'm glad that you didn't hesitate to call me when you were in trouble. It seems that I'm the one who's always running to you when I'm in trouble – it's kind of nice to return the favor."  
  
Luke smiled. "Wow, and here I thought you'd be giving me crap about this for weeks."  
  
"Well, make no mistake, mister, I'm still gonna give you crap for it." Lorelai chuckled.  
  
Luke looked at the clock, it was close to nine. "Well, I should get back to the diner. I'm sure Caesar and Lane are wondering where the hell I am."  
  
"They already know. I called the diner and told Lane that you weren't feeling well and were taking the day off."  
  
"Lane knows I'm here?"  
  
"Yeah, I told her that I was taking care of you. Hope you don't mind."  
  
Luke shook his head. "It's okay. I appreciate you making the call. But I should still get back and take a shower. I also need to call my lawyer and go back to Litchfield to get my truck."  
  
"If you want I can drive you."  
  
"Lorelai, I can take the bus, it's fine. Don't you have to go to the Dragonfly?"  
  
"I do, later this afternoon. But why don't you go home, take a shower and I'll pick you up in an hour?"  
  
Luke looked at her, wondering why she was being so generous with her time.  
  
"Okay," he replied.  
  
---------------------------  
  
About an hour later, Lorelai parked her jeep in front of the diner. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hey, Luke, I'm downstairs in my jeep. Come down whenever you're ready."  
  
A minute later, Luke appeared at the passenger side and got in the car. He was wearing practically the same outfit he had this morning, except the plaid was blue, not red. Lorelai noticed that he still looked tired, but at least he didn't smell like beer and cigarettes anymore.  
  
"Ready to go back to the scene of the crime?" She joked.  
  
He shot her a look. "Very funny. I just got off the phone with my lawyer. The cop I hit is dropping the charges. It seems that he's going through a divorce and I guess he sympathized with me."  
  
"Well, I guess you lucked out." Lorelai said as she started the engine and pulled away from the curb.  
  
"Yeah, lucky me." Luke sighed. "I feel anything but."  
  
"You mean about Nicole?"  
  
"Yeah, I have no choice now but to go through with the divorce. Adultery is a good reason, isn't it?"  
  
"I would think so. You know, I never really thought that Nicole would be one to cheat on you. I mean, I assume as a lawyer she knows what is legal grounds for divorce." Lorelai paused.  
  
"Unless she wanted you to find out."  
  
"You mean she wanted me to catch her? Nicole didn't know I was coming over last night."  
  
"Yeah, but she knew you had a key, it was only a matter of time. Maybe this was her passive aggressive way of ending the marriage."  
  
"Maybe. But I just wished she had talked to me about it. Told me how unhappy she was."  
  
"Luke, didn't you tell me that you two were constantly fighting but getting nowhere? Maybe this was the only way out."  
  
"Are you saying that Nicole had a right to cheat on me?" Luke asked, his voice rising.  
  
"No, of course not. But she was obviously unhappy, like you said, and maybe she thought you wouldn't listen to her, so this was her way of getting you to listen. People do stupid things when they're trying to get out of a relationship that's not working."  
  
"I guess. Can we not talk about this anymore?" Luke asked. "My headache is coming back."  
  
"Sorry. I'm just trying to help. But if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine."  
  
Lorelai drove the rest of the way to Litchfield in silence. Luke just stared out the window, contemplating his past and future, wondering what led him to this crossroads. His marriage was over, and in truth he was relieved that Nicole had cheated. But he still felt betrayed.  
  
After all, he was in love with another woman, but he never physically cheated. As much as he wanted Lorelai, he would never cheat while he was still married. He doubted that Nicole was even in love with this guy, but here she was committing adultery.  
  
He glanced over at Lorelai, wondering if she could ever want him. Lately he thought he had seen a change in her. She was more attentive and even flirty with him. But now, with his marriage collapsing around him, he was sure that all she saw was a pathetic loser who couldn't keep a relationship together. He was lucky just to have her in his life.  
  
The silence was finally broken when Luke gave Lorelai the directions to the bar. They pulled up in front of the Roadhouse Tavern. His truck was still parked in the small lot.  
  
Luke got out of the jeep and hurried over to his beloved truck. He gave it a good inspection and everything seemed to be intact.  
  
Lorelai approached him. "Is everything okay?"  
  
Luke nodded. "Seems to be. I guess I can take it from here."  
  
He was about to get into the truck when Lorelai reached for his wrist, stopping him.  
  
Luke sighed and looked at her face, she was giving him her patented 'concerned friend' look.  
  
"Luke, I know you said that you didn't want to talk about what happened with Nicole. That's fine. But sometime, probably soon, you're going to want to talk about it. I just want to let you know that when that time comes, just let me know and I'll listen. I won't judge you, I promise." She said sincerely.  
  
"You really mean that, don't you?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yes. I do."  
  
A wave of affection came over Luke and he pulled her close to him. Lorelai wasn't expecting this, but she returned his embrace and smiled against his shoulder. This felt good.  
  
After a few seconds, Luke pulled back and looked at her. He gave her a warm smile which she returned.  
  
"Someday, I'll take you up on your offer. Thanks, Lorelai."  
  
"Anytime, Luke." She replied. "Anyway, I gotta get back to the Dragonfly. You're good here?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm good. Oh, and I'll get you that check. Just come by the diner whenever."  
  
"Okay, see you later." With that Lorelai got in her jeep and headed back home to the Dragonfly.  
  
Luke watched her drive away before getting back into his truck. As he drove back home, he thought about the way she looked at him. There was concern but there was also affection. Maybe she didn't think he was a pathetic mess after all. Maybe someday he would tell her the whole story why his marriage failed. Someday.... 


End file.
